Page 24 of Sly (Dragon Riders MC 5)
And hope Simone did my makeup.
“Girl, you look hot,” Hope said.
Joanna smiled at me. “Sly’s gonna shit himself when he sees you.”
Simone clapped her hands. “I want to teach you how to do your makeup. You’ve got the perfect skin tone to pull off a lot of looks girls like me only wish they could.”
I shook my head. “I have no idea what any of that means.”
Simone threw her arm around my shoulders. “Doesn’t matter how. All you have to do is go to that bar and knock his damn socks off.”
Hope giggled. “And his pants, too. If you can swing it.”
Joanna ushered me out of the closet. “Time to get you laid, sweet thing!”
The girls whooped and hollered as they rushed to piece themselves together a bit. Then, we all set off in Joanna’s Jeep and made our way to the Iron Horse. I felt alive for the first time in my life. I felt free of the craziness I had gotten plunged into thanks to my brother, and I felt ready to tackle whatever Sly had for me this evening. I wrung my hands in my lap as I watched the clock. We were already running fifteen minutes behind schedule. But the girls kept saying something about playing hard to get and making him wait and being ‘fashionably late. So, I didn’t worry much about it.
Until we didn’t see anyone’s bikes in the parking lot.
“Uh oh,” Joanna murmured.
I craned my neck over her seat. “What’s wrong?”
Hope sighed. “Their bikes aren’t here.”
I looked over at her. “That a bad thing?”
Hannah opened her car door as Joanna parked. “I’m going to go inside and see what’s up. Give me a second.”
I shook my head. “What’s happening? Has something bad happened?”
Simone rubbed my thigh with her hand. “Not at all. We’re just trying to figure out if the guys are actually here or somewhere else.”
Joanna turned around to look at us. “Or working.”
I furrowed my brow. “Sly didn’t say anything about him having to work tonight. I mean if he was working, he wouldn’t have invited me, right?”
Hannah opened the car door right next to me. “Yep. Bartender says they went out on a scout about twenty minutes ago.”
I swallowed hard. “So, they aren’t here?”
Simone took my hand. “Girl, it’s okay. I’m sure they’ll be back in no time. And until then? We can have some drinks. I mean we all dressed up, so we might as well.”
Hannah nodded. “Come on. Drinks and food are on me tonight. Just got my first decent paycheck from my job, so let’s celebrate.”
“Woohoo!” Joanna exclaimed.
“I’ll never turn down a free drink,” Simone said with a smile.
Hope rubbed my back. “You gonna come in with us?”
I tried not to sound too disappointed. “Of course, I am.”
Joanna gave me a soft smile. “It doesn’t happen all the time. But eventually? You get used to it.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to, though.
Either way, I went inside with the girls and sat down. I needed a drink or two, especially since my soul felt so deflated. I didn’t even interject when the girls ordered a massive plate of wings and fries. I wasn’t really a fan of chicken wings. They were too messy and I couldn't eat them with a fork and a knife, like I was used to with the rest of my food.
Still, my eyes kept gravitating out the window. Hoping and praying that Sly would show up.
“Hey, you there?” Joanna asked.
Her hand touched down softly against my forearm and I looked over at her. And that was when I realized that not only had a glass of wine been ordered for me, but our food was already sitting on the table.
“Uh, I’m sorry. What happened?” I asked.
Hope giggled softly. “A lot.”
Simone nodded. “You’ve been sitting there for thirty minutes just staring out the window.”
Joanna rubbed my back. “Missing Sly?”
I shrugged. “I was excited to talk with him. I had some questions I wanted to ask him. I was hoping he’d give me some honest answers.”
Hannah leaned forward. “You could always ask us.”
Hope nodded. “Yeah. We know a lot more about their movements and operations than most give us credit for.”
God, I hope my brother doesn’t have me bugged or something. “There’s something I have to admit, and I can’t keep it inside any longer. I was hoping to admit it straight to Sly, but since he isn’t here…”
Joanna took my hand. “What is it, Tara?”
Hannah took my other hand from across the table. “You’re one of the girls now. You can tell us.”
Simone furrowed her brow. “Are our guys in trouble?”
And when I didn’t answer, all eyes were on me.
“Tara? What do you know?” Hope asked.
I closed my eyes. “I’ve just—heard some rumors from my brother on what the crew gets up to and stuff. I was hoping to ask Sly about it so he could set the record straight, because I’m having a hard time believing what my brother is saying.”
